DATACENTERRESEARCH.ORG New Orleans Kids, Working Parents, and Poverty Vicki Mack, The Data Center February 26, 2015 Roughly 78,000 children under 18 years of age live in New Orleans as of 2013. This is a sizable drop from 2000 when over 129,000 children lived in New Orleans. i While the number of children in New Orleans is significantly smaller than pre-Katrina, the poverty rate unfortunately is not. The child poverty rate in New Orleans dropped in 2007 but has since increased to the same level it was pre- Katrina. Today, 39 percent of New Orleans children live in poverty. Child poverty rates 17% 27% 41% 18% 27% 32% 22% 28% 39% 0 25 50 75 100% United States Louisiana New Orleans 1999 2007 2013 n.s. n . s . n . s . n . s . Source: THE DATA CENTER analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from Census 2000 SF3, the 2007 American Community Survey, and the 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates. n.s. = On the 1999 bar, n.s. indicates change between 1999 and 2007 is not significant; on the 2007 bar, n.s. indicates change between 2007 and 2013 is not significant; and on the 2013 bar, n.s. indicates change between 1999 and 2013 is not significant.
Transcript
D A T A C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G
New Orleans Kids, Working Parents, and PovertyVicki Mack, The Data Center February 26, 2015
Roughly 78,000 children under 18 years of age live in New Orleans as of 2013. This is a sizable drop from 2000 when over 129,000 children lived in New Orleans.i While the number of children in New Orleans is significantly smaller than pre-Katrina, the poverty rate unfortunately is not. The child poverty rate in New Orleans dropped in 2007 but has since increased to the same level it was pre-Katrina. Today, 39 percent of New Orleans children live in poverty.
Child poverty rates
17%
27%
41%
18%
27%32%
22%28%
39%
0
25
50
75
100%
United States Louisiana New Orleans
199920072013
n.s.
n.s. n.s.n.s.
Source: THE DATA CENTER analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from Census 2000 SF3,
the 2007 American Community Survey, and the 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year
Estimates.
n.s. = On the 1999 bar, n.s. indicates change between 1999 and 2007 is not significant; on
the 2007 bar, n.s. indicates change between 2007 and 2013 is not significant; and on the
2013 bar, n.s. indicates change between 1999 and 2013 is not significant.
D A T A C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G2 | February 2015
T he child poverty rate in New Orleans is fully 17 percentage points higher than the national average. Moreover, it is higher than in many comparable U.S. cities. Among the 39 cities with populations between 275,000 and 600,000, New Orleans has the 9th highest child poverty rate. This is particularly concerning given that many of the cities with higher child poverty rates, such as
Cleveland, are not experiencing an economic renaissance as in New Orleans.ii Moreover, child poverty in New Orleans is significantly higher than in many cities that New Orleans might aspire to be compared with, such as Tampa and Raleigh.
13.0%
21.3%
29.3%
32.0%
39.1%
39.4%
54.4%
Virginia Beach
Raleigh
Greensboro
Tampa
New Orleans
Toledo
Cleveland
Poverty’s relationship to family structureBy definition, poverty for children is a function of their family’s household income. In other words, the wages of adult family members determine whether children live in poverty.
Child poverty rates in select mid-sized cities, 2013
Source: THE DATA
CENTER analysis of U.S.
Census Bureau data
from the 2013 American
Community Survey
1-Year Estimates
Poverty definition
In this brief we use the official federal poverty definition to measure poverty. Using that measure, poverty status is determined by comparing a family’s annual income to a set of poverty thresholds (in dollars) that vary by family size, number of children, and age of householder. If a family’s pre-tax income is less than their given poverty threshold, then that family and every individual in it are counted as living in poverty.
Examples of poverty thresholds in 2013
One adult, one child$16,057
One adult, two children$18,769
Two adults, one child$18,751
Two adults, two children$23,624
For a complete list of 2013 poverty thresholds, see the downloadable spreadsheet accompanying this brief.
LEARN MORE
For a complete list of the 39 cities with populations between 275,000 and 600,000 and their child poverty rates, see the downloadable spreadsheet accom-panying this brief.
D A T A C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G3 | February 2015
Child poverty rates and married-couple families, 2013, in cities with populations
between 275,000 and 600,000
Abundant research shows that family structures themselves are strongly tied to economic standing.iii For example, higher- income, well-educated couples are more likely to marry, and to stay married, than low-income couples.iv Thus, in cities with low child poverty rates, children are more likely to be living in married-couple families.
Source: THE DATA CENTER analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from the 2013 American Community Survey 1 Year Estimates
Note: The percentage of children living with married parents is from the universe of children living with at least one parent. The
universe does not include children who live in households without a parent present, for example, children living with grandparents or
other relatives.
This data is not intended to suggest that single-parent families cause child poverty or that marriage is a solution to poverty. To the contrary, Harvard sociologist William Julius Wilson explains that a job is often one of the many prerequisites to a stable marriage. v,vi Indeed, as the real earnings of many Americans have declined over the past 50 years, men who have born the brunt of these changes have been decreasingly likely to marry.vii
LEARN MORE
To explore data about child poverty and married-couple and single-parent families with children in all 39 cities, see the inter-active that accompa-nies this brief.
D A T A C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G4 | February 2015
In New Orleans, the share of children in single-mother families has remained stubbornly high at roughly 48 percent since 2000. While the economic prospects for many mothers and children are not good in New Orleans, marriage is not likely to improve them, given that less than half of all working age, African American men have employment.viii Singer Jesse James’ 1988 song entitled I Can Do Bad By Myself, includes the lyrics , “I can do bad by myself. I don’t need no help to starve to death.” These lyrics may sum up the desirability of marriage for many New Orle-ans families in poverty.
Although overall poverty and child poverty have remained unchanged in New Orleans since 1999, the economic status of married-couple families has improved, while the economic status of single-mother families has worsened. The poverty rate for single-mother households in New Orle-ans increased from 52 percent in 1999, to 58 percent in 2013, while the poverty rate for married-couples with children fell from 11 percent to 8 percent.
All told, the poverty rate for single-mother families in New Orleans—at 58 percent—is much higher than the national average of 41 percent.
Source: THE DATA CENTER analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from Census 2000 SF3 and the 2013 American Community Survey
1-Year Estimates
n.s. = change between 2000 and 2013 is not significant
Note: These percents do not include children living in households without a parent present, for example, children living with
grandparents or other relatives. Percents may not sum to 100% due to rounding.
D A T A C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G5 | February 2015
Source: THE DATA
CENTER analysis of U.S.
Census Bureau data
from Census 2000 SF3
and the 2013 American
Community Survey
1-Year Estimates
n.s. = change between
1999 and 2013 is not
significant
Poverty status for families with children by type
34%
49%52%
41%
49%
58%
7%9%
11%9%
7% 8%
United States Louisiana New Orleans
1999 single-mother family2013 single-mother family1999 married-couple family2013 married-couple family
n.s.
Poverty’s relationship to healthy brain developmentHigh poverty levels among New Orleans children are concerning for the long-term economic prospects of the city because of poverty’s effect on child brain development. Scientific research shows that child poverty can lead to chronic, toxic stress that disrupts the architecture of the developing brain. Children in poverty are much more likely to experience exposure to violence, chronic neglect, and the accumulated burdens of economic hardship. This kind of chronic stress causes prolonged activation of the stress response system, which in turn can disrupt the development of brain architecture, leading to lifelong difficulties in learning, memory, and self-regulation.x In short, scholars argue that poverty may be the single greatest threat to children’s healthy brain development.xi
“In short, scholars argue that poverty may be the single greatest threat to children’s healthy brain
development.”
Photo source: Centers for Disease Control. Retrieved February 10,2015 from http://wellcommons.com/users/jestevens/photos/2011/
D A T A C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G6 | February 2015
Source: THE DATA CENTER analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data from the 2013 American Community Survey 1-Year Estimates
Employment status of parents with children by family type, 2013
Working families with childrenDespite high poverty rates, single mothers in New Orleans are more likely to be employed than not. All told, 67 percent of New Orleans’ single mothers are working.
To be sure, all parents of children under 18 in New Orleans are more likely to be working than not. Of all families with children in New Orleans, 82 percent have at least one working parent. And both parents are working in 66 percent of all married-couple families with children.
20
40
60
80
100%
59% 62% 66%
31%31% 23%
6% 5%8%
3% 3% 3%
United States Louisiana New Orleans
29%
83%
17%
73%
27%
16%
84%85%
67%71%
33%
0
married - both parents not employed/not in labor force
married - wife-only employed
married - husband-only employed
married - both parents employed
single male - not employed/ in labor force single male - employed
single female - not employed/ in labor force single female - employed
15%
Given that 82 percent of New Orleans families with children have at least one working parent, how could it be that 39 percent of all New Orleans children live in poverty? The answer may lie partially in the large number of low-wage jobs offered in the New Orle-ans area. A larger share—12 percent—of full-time, year-round workers in the New Orleans metro earn less than $17,500 per year, as compared to only 8 percent nationally. And female workers who live in the city of New Orleans itself are more likely than male workers to earn low wages. According to 2013 Census data, more than 64,000 working women in New Orleans earned less than $17,500 in the prior 12 months through either full-time or part-time work.
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10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000males
females
<$17,500
$75,000-99,999
$65,000-74,999
$50,000-64,999
$35,000-49,999
$17,500-34,999
$100,000 +
5,0103,391
9,705 15,819
34,122
64,059
5,756
Source: THE DATA
CENTER analysis of U.S.
Census Bureau data
from the 2013 American
Community Survey
1-Year Estimates
Number of full- or part-time workers by income range, New Orleans, 2013
Geographies of poverty
In New Orleans, poverty is not evenly spread across the city, but is concentrated in certain neighborhoods. Because family composition is highly correlated with poverty, the geography of poverty and single-parent families follow a consistent spatial pattern as depicted in the maps below.xii
Poverty Rate by Census Block Group, New Orleans, 2007-2011
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Percent of Single-Parent Households by Census Block Group New Orleans, 2010LEARN MORE
For maps of low-
wage workers,
households with no
vehicle, commuting
by public transit,
cost-burdened
renters, adults with
low educational
attainment, and
grandparents as
caregivers, see our
Geographies of
Poverty collection
at http://www.
datacenterresearch.
org/maps/poverty/
Source: THE DATA
CENTER analysis of
data from 2010 Census
Scholars at Harvard University’s National Scientific Council on the Developing Child assert, “The future of any society depends on its ability to foster the healthy development of the next generation. But, poverty can de-rail healthy development by causing excessive or prolonged activation of stress response systems in the body (especially the brain), with damaging effects on learning, behavior, and health across the lifespan.”xiii
More than one out of every three children in New Orleans lives in poverty – and this despite the fact that the vast majority of New Orleans children have at least one parent working. If we want to further our progress in building a healthy, prosperous, and resilient post-Katrina New Orleans, leaders will need to focus not only on job creation, but on quality job creation. Jobs must offer reasonable wages, some level of job security, and the prospect of work progression.xiv In addition, the poor need to be connected to those quality jobs.
Raising a mother out of poverty can have a powerful rippling effect on society, particularly in New Orleans where almost 50 percent of the children living with parents live with a single mom. Women also contribute to the incomes of 74 percent of the married-couple families with children in New Orleans. Therefore, increasing mothers’ access to education, job training, and quality child care are some of the ways to ensure that a large number of children successfully transition to adulthood.xv
Innovation is needed to break the cycle of poverty that grips poor families. Innovative approaches will recog-nize that the parents’ situations matter and that to improve outcomes for poor children, we must address the needs of them and their parents. One innovative program in Atlanta sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foun-dation uses a two-generation approach to give children access to a high-quality early childhood education, while also helping parents to get better jobs and build stronger families.xvi This two-generation approach and others like it across the country, are still in their infancy.xvii However, theoretical justification for these programs is strong, their early results are promising, and the time is ripe for innovation, experimentation, and further study.xvii
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Data Sources/Methodology All data is from the Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF3) and American Community Survey 2007, and 2013 (single-year files). Statistical tests of significance were computed at the 95% confidence level for all data from the American Community Survey and Census 2000 SF3.
An “n.s.” indicates that differences between two time periods are not significant, and therefore are the result of sampling variability rather than real change in characteristics of the population.
The significance tests require both estimates and their standard errors.
Standard errors for the ACS estimates were calculated using formulas in Appendix 3 of “What General Data Users Need to Know” avail-able at: http://www.census.gov/acs/www/Downloads/handbooks/ACSGeneralHandbook.pdf.
Standard errors for Census 2000 SF3 data were calculated using formulas from Chapter 8 of the Technical Documentation available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2000/doc/sf3.pdf.
Standard errors for Census 2000 and Census 2010 SF1 data are zero.
The test for significance was calculated using formulas in Appendix 4 of “What General Data Users Need to Know.”
Technical NotesData on children living with parents by family type, and employment status of parents with children by family type represent only families with a child under 18 years of age who is a son or daughter by birth, stepchild or an adopted child of the householder. Data on poverty status for families with children by type represent families with any child under 18 years of age who is related to the house-holder by birth, marriage, or adoption. The Census’ tabulation of “related” children was selected for the calculation of poverty status to ensure comparability between 2000 and 2013 data.
About the AuthorVicki Mack is Senior Research Fellow at The Data Center.
Dr . Mack is an expert in developmental psychology and juvenile delinquency who has examined community–based programs designed to serve youth, the social and demographic factors associated with juvenile delinquency, and juvenile offenders’ responsiveness to interventions. She joined The Data Center in 2013 after holding positions as a statistician and data dissemi-nation specialist for the U.S. Census Bureau. She held faculty positions at Clark Atlanta University and University of Michigan–Dearborn, where she taught statistics and psychology. Dr. Mack also has seven years of direct service experience in the fields of juvenile delinquency, foster care, and developmental disabilities. She has a PhD from Wayne State University and an MHA in healthcare administration from Bellevue University.
About The Data CenterThe Data Center is the most trusted resource for data about greater New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana. Since 1997, The Data Center has been an objective partner in bringing reliable, thoroughly researched data to conversations about building a more prosperous, inclusive, and sustainable region. The Data Center (formerly known as the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center) became the local authority for tracking post-Katrina recovery with The New Orleans Index, developed in partnership with the Brookings Institution, Metropolitan Policy Program. Now a biennial publication, The New Orleans Index is the go-to resource for national and local media, decisionmakers across all levels of government, and leaders in the private and nonprofit sectors. The Data Center’s expertise in com-piling, analyzing, and publishing the most relevant, high-impact data has made it a leader in helping communities and decisionmakers understand the rapid pace of demographic, economic, and environmental change in Southeast Louisiana.
AcknowledgmentsElaine Ortiz and Nihal Shrinath provided data analysis support. Elaine Ortiz, Allison Plyer, and Whitney Soenksen provided editorial support. Whitney Soenksen provided graphics support and layout. Design by Southpaw Creative.
The Data Center is supported in part by blue moon fund, Baptist Community Ministries, Foundation for Louisiana, Greater New Orleans Foundation, GPOA Foundation, Institute of Mental Hygiene, JPMorgan Chase Foundation, Methodist Health System Foundation, Rosa-Mary Foundation, Patrick F. Taylor Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, United Way of Southeast Louisiana, Zemurray Foundation, and data users like you.
D A T A C E N T E R R E S E A R C H . O R G1 0 | February 2015
Endnotes iShrinath, N., Mack, V., & Plyer, A. (2014). Who lives in New Orleans and metro parishes now? The Data Center. Retrieved from http://www.datacenterresearch.org/data-resources/who-lives-in-new-orleans-now/
iiPlyer, A., Ortiz, E., Horwitz, B., & Hobor, G. (2013). The New Orleans Index at Eight. The Data Center. Retrieved from https://gnocdc.s3.am-azonaws.com/reports/GNOCDC_NewOrleansIndexAtEight.pdf
iiiChild Trends Databank. (2014). Children in poverty. Retrieved from http://www.childtrends.org/?indicators=children-in-poverty
ivTrail, T., & Karney, B. (2012). Why do low-income couples marry less and divorce more? Journal of Marriage and Family, Wiley. Retrieved from https://www.ncfr.org/sites/default/files/downloads/news/jmf_july_2012_0.pdf
vWilson, W. J. (1987). The truly disadvantaged: The inner city: The underclass, and public policy. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
viWolpert, S. (2012). Poor people value marriage as much as the middle class and rich, study show: Battle over the value of marriage “has been won,” UCLA psychologist report. UCLA Newsroom. Retrieved from http://newsroom.ucla.edu/releases/poor-people-value-mar-riage-as-236346
viiGreenstone, M., & Looney, A. (2012). The marriage gap: The impact of economic and technological change in marriage rates. Brookings Institution. Retrieved from http://www.brookings.edu/blogs/jobs/posts/2012/02/03-jobs-greenstone-looney
viiiSeventy-one percent of children under 18 in New Orleans are African American according to 2013 American Community Survey data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For employment rates of working age African American men in New Orleans see Sams-Abiodun, P., & Rat-tler, G. (2013). Recognizing the underutilized economic potential of black men in New Orleans. Lindy Boggs National Center for Commu-nity Literacy. Retrieved from http://www.loyno.edu/boggsliteracy/sites/loyno.edu.boggsliteracy/files/RecognizingPotential.pdf
ixRosenfeld, M. (2010). Nontraditional families and childhood progress through school. Demography, 47(3), 755-775. Retrieved from http://web.stanford.edu/~mrosenfe/Rosenfeld_Nontraditional_Families_Demography.pdf
xNational Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2005/2014). Excessive stress disrupts the architecture of the developing brain: Working Paper 3. Updated Edition. Retrieved from http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu
xiNational Center for Children in Poverty, (2014). Child poverty. Retrieved from http://www.nccp.org/topics/childpoverty.html
xiiHorwitz, B. (2012). The Data Center. Geographies of poverty. Retrieved from http://www.datacenterresearch.org/maps/poverty/
xiiiNational Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2007). The science of early childhood development. Retrieved from http://www.developingchild.net
xivJoseph Rowntree Foundation. (2014). Connecting growth and poverty reduction: More jobs, better jobs in Leeds City region. Retrieved from http://www.jrf.org.uk/sites/files/jrf/Connecting-growth-poverty-summary.pdf
xvMather, M. (2010). U.S. children in single-mother families. Population Reference Bureau Data Brief. Retrieved from http://www.prb.org/pdf10/single-motherfamilies.pdf
xviSemuels. A. (2014). A different approach to breaking the cycle of poverty. The Atlantic. Retrieved from http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/12/a-different-approach-to-breaking-the-cycle-of-poverty/384029/
xviiHaskins, R., Garfinkel, I., & McLanahan, S. (2014). Introduction: Two-generation mechanisms of child development. The Future of Chil-dren, volume 24 (1). Retrieved from http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/24_01_FullJournal.pdf
xviiiChase-Lansdale & Brooks-Gunn, J. (2014). Two-generation program in the twenty-first century. The Future of Children, volume 24 (1). Retrieved from http://futureofchildren.org/futureofchildren/publications/docs/24_01_FullJournal.pdf
xixJesuit Social Research Institute. (2014). Too much for too many: What does it cost families to live in Louisiana? JustSouth Quarterly. Retrieved from http://www.loyno.edu/jsri/sites/loyno.edu.jsri/files/JSRI%20SPECIAL%20REPORT%20Too%20Much%20for%20Too%20Many.pdf. Wider Opportunities for Women. (2013). Basic Economic Security TablesTM Index. Retrieved from http://www.basiceconom-icsecurity.org/best/.
xxWider Opportunities for Women. (2013). Basic Economic Security TablesTM Index. Retrieved from http://www.basiceconomicsecurity.org/best/.
